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Flying Scotsman Coming To The North Yorkshire Moors Railway

The Flying Scotsman Coming To The North York Moors Railway in March 2016. The dates are as follows and the timetable can be found at the bottom of the page. All tickets have now sold out but it will make a great spectacle for steam enthusiasts across the region.

The Flying Scotsman Is Coming To The North Yorkshire Moors Railway In March 2016

The legendary locomotive 60103 Flying Scotsman, is coming back into service following a £4.2 million overhaul and will be running on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway during March.

The LNER Class A3 “Pacific” steam locomotive was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design by Nigel Gresley. It was at that time given the number 4472 and used to haul long-distance trains notably the 10.00am London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman express after which it was named.

It received much public attention when selected to appear at the British Empire Exhibition in London in 1924 and went on to feature in several publicity films made for the LNER. Improvements to its original design in 1928 resulted in a new tender for carrying coal, which had a corridor allowing a new crew to take over without stopping the train. This allowed it to haul the first ever non-stop London to Edinburgh service on 1st May, reducing the journey time to eight hours. In 1934 it became the first steam locomotive to reach a fully authenticated 100 miles per hour making a new steam speed record.

Throughout its 40 year life on Britain’s railways, the locomotive clocked up over 2 million miles, had several changes to its designated number and its livery, appearing in LNER Apple Green, Wartime Black, Powder Blue and BR Brunswick Green at the time it was retired from mainline duties in 1963.

Following its purchase from BR by the late Alan Pegler in 1963, ‘Scotsman’ has had several owners including Sir William McAlpine, Pete Waterman, Tony Marchington and now the National Railway Museum. In the early 1970s the locomotive toured North America and Canada, some 15 years later it was a show-stopper in Australia where it recorded the longest ever non-stop run by a steam locomotive, travelling 422 miles.

In 2004 the locomotive was again up for sale and was purchased for the nation, following a successful campaign which included £415,000 raised by the public, £365,000 donated by Sir Richard Branson, plus a £1.8m grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

The engine will appear in BR Brunswick Green when it appears in steam in 2016, the colours in which it bowed out of normal service in 1963. The visit to the NYMR is part of a national operating programme co-ordinated by Riley & Son working closely with staff from the National Railway Museum’s rail operations team. While the NYMR event takes place, the Museum is celebrating the fame and celebrity of the most famous locomotive and service in the world with a February-July Flying Scotsman season.

There will be three services per date and each return journey will start and finish from Grosmont Station. Each ticket is valid for one return journey on the pre-booked service only.

The Timetable For The Flying Scotsman On North Yorkshire Moors Railway